Connector for electric circuits



June 5, 1951 L. DAY

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS Filed Oct. 22, 1945 INVENTOR. L ESL/E DA Y Patented June 5, 1951 CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS Leslie Day, Chicago, 111., assignor of one-half to Lamar L. Day, St. George, N. Y.

Application October 22, 1945, Serial No. 623,813

4 Claims.

This invention relates to connectors for electric circuits and more particularly to electric plugs for use in the electric systems for controlling the brakes of railroad trains, this application being a continuation in part of applicants copending application for Control Systems, Serial No. 453,872, filed August 6, 1942, now Patent No. 2,391,228.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric plug for connecting together the wires of an electric circuit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hermaphrodite split plug adapted to insure proper connections between the cars, said plug being so constructed and arranged that the parts may be connected with a single operation and disconnected at the right place without assistance of the train crew or other personnel, and which will not short when wet by rain or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to pro vide a plug of this character that is simple in construction, reliable in operation and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description or may be ascertained from a study of the accompanying drawings in which certain modifications of the invention have been shown. It will be evident that the principles of the invention may be incorporated in various forms and I contemplate the employment of any structures, arrangements, or modes of operation that are properly within the scope of the accompanying claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the hermaphrodite plug with portions cut away in one part to show the interior construction thereof;

Figure 2 is a view of the plug taken on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the plugs to show their arrangement on the cars; and

Figure 4 shows diagrammatically an alterna tive arrangement.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3, the hermaphrodite split plugs each comprise a pair of mating or matching parts It and I2. Each part comprises a body of any suitable insulating material such as Bakelite or the F like and each body is formed of opposed portions I4 and I6 secured together as by bolts It. A rounded prong R and a square prong S extend longitudinally in each body and said prongs are provided with a rounded head adjacent the inner ends having screws 2%] for securing respective wires 20a thereto. Adjacent the prongs S and R are longitudinally extending passages 22 and 24 respectively having cross sections correspond ing to the cross sections of the adjacent prongs.

Adjacent the prong R is a spring 26 suitably anchored in the body of the plug and having a head 23 normally entering the passage 24 and so formed as to permit entrance of the mating prong R of the other part of the plug. The head 28 is shown as being round although any other suitable shape may be provided and when the mating prong R is inserted in the passage 24 the head 28 is displaced, entering a recess 36 provided therefor. The head 23 is adapted to frictionally bear against the adjacent prong to prevent accidental separation of the plug parts. It is to be understood, of course, that a similar spring 26 with a head 28 is provided for the prong S and the plug I2 is similar in construc tion to the plug I ll.

The passages 22 and 24 of each part of the plug extend along corresponding sides of the respecuive prongs and receive corresponding prongs of the other part. Thus the parts of the plug can only be connected together in one way and it is impossible to connect them together improperly. It is to be noted that as the mating parts of the plug are connected together the adjacent contact sides or surfaces of the respective male and female mating prongs slide longitudinally on each other, that is, there is a longitudinal wiping action of said surfaces so as to keep said surfaces free of corrosive or other foreign material and insure good contact therebetwecn. The wiped or cleaned surfaces are then in contact with each other throughout substantially their entire length of over substantially their entire area when the plug parts are connected together.

A gasket 38 may be provided between the parts I 4 and I6 of each part of the plug to prevent rain or the like from penetrating into the interior of the body and cause a short circuit, and if desired a flexible sheath 3c of spirally wound metal or the like (which are well known) may be provided to protect the Wires adjacent to each plug. It has also been found desirable to provide recesses or notches 36 in the abutting ends of the matched parts of the plugs, said notches aiding in preventing shorting between the prongs S and R should the plugs become wet from rain or snow.

Referring to Figure 3 the arrangement of the plug parts at the ends of the cars is shown, the end of a car being indicated at C. The construction of the plugs is such that the part at the end of one car will match or mate with the part at the end of an adjacent car. It should be noted that as the plugs have a flexible connection with their respective cars they can be turned or rotated, if necessary, to match with the plug of the adjacent car.

In Figure 4 there is shown an alternative ar rangement of the invention. The plug here.

3 shown comprises two'parts, 49 and 42 of vulcanized rubber, Bakelite, or the like. Each part has a prong 54 extending longitudinally therefrom and'having a pointed free end'46 with an enlargement 48 adjacent to said free end. The inner end of the prong is enlarged and perforated to receive a screw 56 whereby an electric" wire, not shown, may be attached. Each part also is provided with a longitudinally extending passage 52 spaced from the prong thereoiin'substantially parallel. relationship. Along one side of the passage is a contact strip'5' i having an enlarged end with a hole therein for reception of a screw 56 to which the other wire is connected. The wires are adapted to be received in a passage 58 in the plug which provides an inlet for said wires. The passage 52 is also provided with a spring 65 opposite the strip 55, said spring being anchored in the body of the plug at 62 and has a' free end 64- Which is normally disposed within said passage 52. The end 64 is rounded and is adapted to engage the enlargement 43 of the prong of the mating plug so as to frictionally resist' accidentalseparation of the parts of the plug. When the prong of the opposite part is inserted into the passage 52 it'bears against the strip 54 to form an electrical connection and at this time the free end 69 of the spring is urged into a recess 66' in the body of the plug. In this arrange- 'ment the contacting adjacent surfaces of the respective mating prongs or contact members are also longitudinally wiped free of corrosive material or the like, as the plugs are being connected together, and the cleaned surfaces are in contact with each other throughout substantially their entire length or area when the plugs are thus connected.

It will be understood from the foregoing that many variations of the invention can be made from the disclosed embodiments and it is not intended that the scope thereof shall be limited to the forms shown and described, nor otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hermaphrodite plug, a pair of mating parts each of which-comprises opposed sections of insulating material forming a, body, a pair of projecting prongs extending longitudinall of the body and spaced apart laterally of each other, the cross-sectional shape of said prongs being dissimilar but corresponding to the respective prongs of the other part of the plug, a passage extending adjacent to each prong and having the same cross-sectional shape as the adjacent prong, onepassage extending along the side ofone prong adjacent the other prong andthe other passage extending along the side of the other prong opposite the one prong, the parts of said plug being adapted to be united in a manner wherebyprongs of similar cross-sectional shape are in contact with each other and are disposed in passages of corresponding cross-sectional shape, and yielding means in the respective parts of the plug adapted to engage the prongs of a mating part when said parts are united, said yielding means being to engage the respective prongs and resist separation of the partsof the plug.

2. In a hermaphrodite plug for connecting together portions of an electric circuit on railroad trains havin separable units carrying ortions of said circuit, each plug comprising a pair of mating plug parts each of which includes a body of insulating material, a pair of projecting prongs shape of said prongs being dissimilar but corresponding to the respective prongs of the other part of the plug, and a passage extending longitudinally into the body'adjacent each prong and havin the same cross-sectional shape as the adjacent prong, one passage extending along the side of one prong facing the other prong and the other passage extending along the side of the other prong facing away from said one prong, the parts of the plug being adapted to be united in a mannerwhereby the prongs of the respective parts are remova-bly disposed in passages of corresponding cross-sectional shape.

8. In ahermaphrodite electric plug: a pair of F mating plug parts each comprising a body of insulating material; and a pair of projecting prongs for each part extending in substantially parallel relationship to each other, the crosssectional shape of the prongs of a part being dissimilar but the cross-sectional shape of the prongs of one part corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the respective prongs of the other part, each of the plug parts having an openin alongside each of the prongs thereof, the cross-sectional shape of said openings corresponding in cross-sectional shape to the adjacent prongs, said openings also corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the prongs to be received therein.

4. In a hermaphrodite electric connector: a pair of mating plug parts each comprising a structure of insulating material from which projects a pair of substantially parallel prongs, there being a passageway alongside each prong, the crosssectional shape of the prongs of one part corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the respective prongs of the other part and the passageways alongside of the respective prongs corresponding in cross-sectional shape to the adjacent prongs and also corresponding to the crosssectional shape of the prongs to be received therein, the corresponding prongs of said parts engaging each other when the parts are plugged together, the conformation of the prongs and passageways of the plug parts preventing incorrect mating of said parts.

LESLIE DAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are. of record in the file of. this patent:

UNITED- STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 350,293 Cox Oct. 5, 1886 399,326 Griggs Mar. 12,- 1389 473,637 McElroy Apr. 26, 1892 1,978,510 Spence, Jr; Oct. 30, 1934 1,996,422 Hurley Apr. 2, 1935 1,997,081 Reynolds Apr. 9,. 1935 2,000,318 Cannon May, '7, 1935 2,060,745 Pettee Nov. 10, 1936 2,124,207 Neeson July 19, 1938 2,195,343 Sayre Mar. 26, 1940 2,245,148 Kohne June 10, 1941 2,275,762 Horton Mar. 19, 1942 2,319,728 Eby May 18, 1943 2,383,926 White Aug. 28, 1945 2,384,267 Andersen Sept. 4, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,346 England of 1887 635,762 France Mar. 24, 1928 

